“Enough already!” Yang Cuilian frowned and waved her hand. “What are we even going on about? We’re not the ones getting a wife—this is for that good-for-nothing brother-in-law of ours!”
“If you ask me, Mom just thinks none of us women around here act the part anymore. She’s scared if he marries someone with a spine, Third Brother will never want to stay home.”
“So she picked someone sickly—someone who looks like she has no wits and no temper at all!”
Ge Zhaodi put in, “It cuts both ways. A sickly girl really is soft and timid, doesn’t seem the type to pick fights. But a man like Third Brother… can she actually rein him in?”
“Just look at today—he wanted to run off and fool around first thing this morning, and yet You Sanmei still told him to be careful not to get heatstroke!”
Yang Cuilian let out a snort. “Our Mom’s tough as nails, and even she couldn’t keep Third Brother in line!”
Ge Zhaodi let out a long sigh. “Please. Mom doesn’t keep him in line at all. Just because of what Grandpa said right before he died, she’s been willing to feed and house that useless son of hers all this time.”
“She’ll nag him till she’s blue in the face, but that’s all it ever amounts to…”
After stepping inside, Lin Mei sat down on the edge of the heated bed and took You Sanmei’s hand, chatting idly.
“Ugh, I’ve been fighting with Li Heng these past couple days,” Lin Mei pouted, looking thoroughly put out.
You Sanmei sneered inwardly, but put on a concerned face. “…What happened? Why are you upset all of a sudden?”
Lin Mei huffed, “We’ve only been married a few days, and he’s already rushing off to work at the factory—says he wants to earn money for me to spend.”
“But we’ll have plenty of time for that later! I just want him to spend time with me!”
“I married so far away, I don’t even know all the neighbors yet, or my way around the village. Leaving me here all alone… it feels so awkward!”
These were exactly the same words she’d said in her past life.
Back then, You Sanmei had comforted her earnestly, even a little enviously—telling her how lucky she was to have a husband who was hardworking and responsible. She’d complained that her own husband never did an honest day’s work, and was hardly ever around. He’d leave at dawn, come back just for lunch, head out again, and wouldn’t return until it was pitch black.
But this time… You Sanmei would say something completely different.
“Exactly!” You Sanmei agreed vehemently, feigning indignation. “Money can be earned anytime! But getting married only happens once in a lifetime!”
“Besides, you’ve barely been married a few days—isn’t this when husbands are supposed to be head over heels? Unless… there’s someone new catching his eye at the factory?”
“Absolutely not!” Lin Mei’s face flushed bright red, and she shot up to her feet. “What kind of nonsense is that?!”
“How could you even say that?!”
“All his coworkers who came to the wedding said he’s such a decent man—he never so much as speaks to other women at work!”
Oh, really now?
You Sanmei flinched, as if startled.
But in her heart, she sneered: Why are you getting so flustered? Are you that scared?
Too bad—every word she’d said was true, not just a joke.
In her past life, those debt collectors had shouted exactly the same things. They’d said Li Heng was fooling around with any number of women, acting all respectable in public while carrying on with anyone who’d give him the time of day. They’d even said Chen Jingsheng had definitely been tricked by him.
But they didn’t care about any of that. All they wanted was for someone else to take over the debt—and pay up. If they couldn’t pay, they’d take anything else instead. Organs, wives, children… anything.
A cold dread settled deep in You Sanmei’s chest, and her eyes clouded over with dark resolve. She then looked at Lin Mei in feigned surprise. “Mei, why are you getting so worked up? I was just joking!”
“Unless… you’ve noticed something yourself?”
“I—noticed what?!” Lin Mei’s heart skipped a beat. She remembered the faint, strange scent clinging to Li Heng’s clothes when he’d come home the night before, and her voice rose higher. “I told you—he’s in such a rush to work so he can buy me nice things!”
“Oh, I see,” You Sanmei said calmly. “Well then—what are you mad at him for? That sounds like a good thing.”
Her casual remark left Lin Mei speechless, and she plopped back down in a huff.
Then she switched gears, lashing out blindly.
“Enough about me—what about your husband?”
“He doesn’t do a single thing—no farming, no work, no money. At the very least he should be around to keep you company!”
“Not a cent to his name, and never around—what’s even the point of that?!”
You Sanmei blinked. “You know I’m not in good health. It’s actually better when he’s out during the day—I can rest whenever I want, sleep whenever I want.”
The words struck Lin Mei like a sharp jab.
Before she’d come over, her mother-in-law had told her to wash all the family’s clothes—every last one.
She could handle most things, but even her father-in-law’s clothes? Who would put up with that? She wouldn’t even wash her own father’s dirty laundry!
What an old shameless…
Seeing Lin Mei’s expression sour further, You Sanmei felt a surge of satisfaction. She fought back a grin and went on. “But you know… he really does have it easy.”
“He can’t do a single thing right, yet his mother’s happy to feed him and spoil him. And now his two sisters-in-law even have to look after his useless wife—look, they’re off boiling my medicine right now!”
“Medicine?!” Lin Mei gasped. “We talked about this just the other day! They curse you out one minute and make you medicine the next—they’re definitely up to something! How can you drink what they give you?!”
“Why wouldn’t I?” You Sanmei smiled softly.
“I must have been out of my mind before, thinking all sorts of silly things.”
“If they were really that cruel, they’d have gotten rid of my husband first—why keep a useless brother-in-law around eating everyone out of house and home?”
“Ah, never mind~” You Sanmei said breezily. “Actually, my husband’s not so bad when you think about it—he’s handsome, tall, long legs… they say good looks really do lift your mood, don’t they?”
“I looked him over carefully yesterday, and all my anger just melted away.”
“Guess I’m just shallow—can’t resist a handsome face!”
Lin Mei fell silent for a long time.
That was exactly what she’d thought when she first laid eyes on Chen Jingsheng, too. Li Heng was handsome enough—fair-skinned and well-groomed. But most of that was just show; he knew how to dress himself up. Underneath all that hairspray, his hair was thin and limp, and he looked completely drained of life.
But You Sanmei’s husband, Chen Jingsheng? He stood tall—taller than most men in the village, even in his slippers. His hair was thick and glossy, his eyes bright and lively—every bit the vibrant eighteen-year-old he was. Just standing near him, you could feel how warm and full of life he was.
Compare that to Li Heng—every day he paraded around in those thick-soled leather shoes, stuffed with two extra pairs of insoles! On a hot summer night, when he took them off…
“Ugh!”
Lin Mei’s face went pale, and her stomach churned violently.